Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz official for UFC 158 in Montreal

LAS VEGAS – Sorry, Johny Hendricks (14-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC). You’re going to have to wait. The next contender to the UFC’s welterweight title is none other than former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz (26-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC).

UFC officials on Saturday announced that Diaz will face current champion Georges St-Pierre (23-2 MMA, 17-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC 158, which is expected to take place March 16 in Montreal.

St-Pierre spoke to the media in Las Vegas at Saturday’s The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale event, where he explained his logic for taking the fight with Diaz: In his mind, the fiery Californian is the division’s true No. 1 contender.

“I’m doing a favor for the fans and everybody,” St-Pierre told MMAjunkie.com. “That’s a fight that I think is going to sell the most and the one fans want to see. The UFC is going to want this big fight. This is the fight people want to see.”

“I do feel bad for Johnny Hendricks, but put yourself in my shoes. It’s a big fight. This fight was waiting to happen for a long time. It’s a big fight, and people want to see it.

UFC boss Dana White first teased the possibility of booking the long-awaited matchup earlier this month at a pre-event press conference for UFC on FOX 5.

“Georges St-Pierre went on vacation,” White said. “When he came back, we were talking about Anderson Silva. He said, ‘I want Nick Diaz. Me and Nick Diaz have unfinished business. We were supposed to fight. That’s the fight I want now.’

“Georges St-Pierre has been a phenomenal champion, a phenomenal human being and just a great guy to work with for us. He doesn’t ask for things. If he wants to fight Nick Diaz, and Nick Diaz wants to fight him, that’s probably the fight we’ll make.”

To no one’s surprise, Diaz accepted.

St-Pierre and Diaz were originally scheduled to fight in October 2011 at UFC 137, but Diaz failed to show for a pair of promotional appearances and was pulled from the bout. In an odd twist, he was later placed back on the card against B.J. Penn after St-Pierre was forced to withdraw from the event with a training injury. The St-Pierre vs. Diaz bout was later planned for UFC 143, but St-Pierre was also pulled from that card, which allowed Carlos Condit to step in and defeat Diaz in a hotly-contested unanimous decision and claim a UFC interim title belt. Diaz then tested positive for marijuana metabolites in a post-fight drug screen and was subsequently suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission through February 2013.

Diaz, known almost as much for his trashtalking and aggressive demeanor as for his ample fighting skills, has long been under St-Pierre’s skin. Following Diaz’s UFC 137 win over Penn, White said the French-Canadian made an impassioned plea to face the hot-headed Californian.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, including UFC 158, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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